A Little Fire
by Snodin
Summary: Chapter 4: Scarecrow is starting to have dreams of a woman he's never seen before. ...Or HAS he? Musical/Wizard of Oz crossover. Elphaba/Fiyero.
1. Never Let Him Die

"A Little Fire"

Based on the musical "Wicked" and "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz"

Snodin

*

I: Let Him Never Die

"_Eleka nahmen nahmen  
Ah tum ah tum eleka nahmen  
Eleka nahmen nahmen  
Ah tum ah tum eleka nahmen_

"_Let his flesh not be torn  
Let his blood leave no stain  
Though they beat him  
Let him feel no pain  
Let his bones never break  
And however they try  
To destroy him  
Let him never die!  
Let him never die…_

"_Eleka nahmen nahmen  
Ah tum ah tum eleka nahmen  
Eleka nahmen nahmen  
Ah tum ah tum eleka… eleka…. Ele…_ AUGH!"

**SMASH!** Went the window pane as she threw a bottle at it in frustration, startling her winged monkey companions in the process.

Elphaba was at it for over thirty minutes now, chanting a phrase she barely understood from The Grimmerie in a desperate act to save her captured lover, Fiyero. By then the Gale Force- the Wizard of Oz's personal guards- had already tied him to a post in the middle of a corn field and left him there to die, beaten and bloodied. This was her last chance to save him… but…

"I don't even know what I reading!" she blurted out loud in her frustration.

The black-clad, lime-skinned woman then started to pace back and forth, back and forth in her sanctuary, watched over by her loyal winged monkey friends. Uttering nonsense to herself, things like, "Fiyero, where are you? Already dead or bleeding?" to herself, she was clearly drifting into madness. And her friends could only watch.

Then suddenly, she came to a sudden halt. "That's it… I've had it. I'm done making good, because every time I try, someone gets hurt. Nessa… Doctor Dillamond… Now Fiyero… oh, Fiyero…" She then collapsed to her knees in grief.

Chistery, the lead monkey, fluttered to her side to try and console her, only to be pushed away. "No!" she spat. "I don't want your pity." The witch then scrambled to her feet and pulled her cape around her arms.

"Let all of Oz be agreed, I'm wicked through and through. Since I cannot succeed in saving those I love, then I'll just have to make do with what I have. And what I have is… is… those _shoes_."

Elphaba marched herself to the nearest window, overlooking a green field that went on and on until it hit the horizon. There, in the far distance, sat the magnificent skyline of the Emerald City. There, she would find her sisters' bejeweled shoes.

"Those shoes rightfully belong to me. I'm going to get them back… no matter what it takes."

Elphaba's teeth grit, and for a moment one would swear they saw fangs among them.

*

His eyes fluttered open, perhaps instinctively. He wouldn't remember dreaming, or even what dreaming was. He wouldn't remember a thing about his past- his name, his heritage, nothing. After all, what kind of a living can a brainless scarecrow expect?

But it wasn't just instinct that woke him up; it was the sound of wings flapping and a bird cawing in his ear- or what _would have_ been his ear. His potato sack head shifted slightly to the right, and gazed upon a crow sitting on his shoulder, cawing at him.

"…Go on, git. …Scat," he muttered, not quite sure how it was that he could talk. It didn't matter anyway, this bird was starting to annoy him. "Boo!" Nothing. The bird wouldn't budge. To make matters worse, more were coming, perching on his outstretched arms and raggedy hat. "Oh, come on!" So far, this wasn't his day.

_Bark! Bark! Bark, bark, bark!_

The sound was enough to scare off the crows, giving the scarecrow a brief moment of relief. "Whew…" This gave him a few seconds to look around and observe things. The first things he saw were his feet, tied fiercely to the crucifix-like post. His shoes were old and worn, as were the rest of his tattered clothes. Everything inside was a mixture of straw and leaves, he could feel and hear them rustling as he twitched. It was a little ticklish, but he would soon adjust to it. What he didn't know was that there were now stitches where there used to be scars, patches where there used to be gashes, and cloth where there used to be flesh.

"Hm. …This is int'resting," he muttered.

Then came that ear-splitting barking again: _Bark-bark-bark-bark!_

"Augh," he moaned in irritation. His annoyance quickly turned to concern, however, when he noticed a small figure trotting down the road ahead. It was a little girl, at least ten years old, wearing a strange blue skirt over a white blouse and with dark brown hair in twin braids. Her shoes glittered with every step, almost blinding his button eyes for a moment. He watched as she and her little black dog came to a crossroad, and stood there in puzzlement.

"…Are you lost?" he called out to her.

The startled little girl looked around, but saw no one. "Who's there?" she called back.

"Me!" he called out in reply. He would wave to her, had his gloved hands not been tied down.

Still not certain where this strange voice was coming from, the little girl asked, "Which way to the Emerald City?"

"Oh! Emerald City, let's see… Emerald City… Uh… That way." His left hand pointed.

"Which way?"

"_That_ way!"

"Left?"

"Right."

"Oh, I go right?"

"Right. No, left! Wait… Which is left again?"

_Grrr_, growled the little dog, pin-pointing the voice to the strange scarecrow on the pole.

"Hush Toto," said the girl. "It's just an old scarecrow."

"Yes I am. Wait… I am??"

"Oh… OH!" gasped the little girl as she realized that the cloth doll was talking. "I beg your pardon sir, I- I didn't know that was _you_."

"Yes, it's me," he smiled. "I'm… uh, well… I'm me!"

"I'm Dorothy," she curtsied. "I need to get back home to Kansas, but only the Wizard can help me."

"Wizard? There's a wizard around here?"

"Why, yes. I thought you knew."

"Oh, I'm sorry to say that I don't know much. I don't even know how to get down from here."

"Well, maybe I can help." The little girl fearlessly approached him at his post, and one by one she loosened the knots around his legs and wrists. Without understanding of the law of gravity, he plummeted to the ground as soon as he was freed.

"Oh my goodness! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, didn't feel a thing!" he smiled as he struggled to his feet. The scarecrow then realized he didn't know how to stand, or walk for that matter, and as soon as he took his first step he fell to the ground again. "…I'm seriously not used to this."

"Here, let me help." The little girl was all too willing to pick him back up and balance him until at last he took his first firm steps on the yellow brick road.

"Oh, this is fun! I like walking."

"Good. Do you want to walk with me to the Emerald City? I'm sure the Wizard will be nice enough to meet you."

"Well, sure. I don't mind keeping you company, I just wish I could be more a help. Not much going up in here, y'know, all stuffing."

"Oh, that is a shame… Maybe the Wizard can help you."

"You mean, he can give me a brain?"

"Well if he can help me get back home, I'm sure he can do anything."

"Well it's worth a try. Alright, count me in!" He then took his stuffed glove into her hand and shook it firmly.

She smiled back, "Then we're off to see the Wizard."

"Right… Wait, no! Left! We go left, I'm sure of it."

"Right- I mean yes."

Then off they went, two unlikely characters plus a small black terrier, down the winding yellow brick road.


	2. I'll Be Heartless, Killing Her

2: I'll Be Heartless, Killing Her

"Where is she!? Don't make me ask again!"

"I already told you, I don't know!"

"And if you did know?"

"…I probably wouldn't tell you."

"Figures."

"…Could you make him put me down now?" pleaded the Tin Man as he dangled upside down while a living tree dangled him by his steely ankle.

"What's wrong, Boq, getting a head rush?" mocked Elfaba, who stood before him securely on the ground.

"It's BIQ! …Oh, wait. You're right, it's Boq. Seriously, put me down! I don't know anything about a farm girl wearing your sister's shoes!"

The wicked witch snarled between her gritted teeth. Elphaba's patience had run out, and turned away from the former Munchkin. But then, an idea flashed in her head. "How about I give you a proposition?" muttered the sneaky green woman. "If you ever find that girl, I want you to take her shoes and bring them back to me. Bring them however means necessary."

"Why should I help you, you vile-ish green hag?" asked the upside-down tin man.

"Because if you do, I may find a spell in the Grimmerie that will make you human again."

Silence fell between them, as dark clouds closed in on the sky above. Elphaba's time in the Forest of Fighting Trees had run out. "I have to go," she said, and made a hasty retreat before the rain started.

"Hey… HEY! Get back here, you twisted ol' witch! Don't leave me hanging!" hollered the tin man. But it was no use, she was gone. And the rain began to pour while he remained stuck in the living tree's grasp. "Oh… that's just great…"

*

It was no coincidence that there was a rainstorm in the forest that late afternoon. It was the work of the Wizard's most loyal assistant, Madame Morrible. Credited for having powers over the weather, she would conjure up a storm every day in nearly every land, hoping one of them would melt the Wicked Witch of the West. Though she had no real proof of it being true, the rumor of Elphaba's weakness to water seemed reasonable. After all, no one's soul was as black as the witch's. No one blamed the good madam for at least trying.

What _was_ coincidence, or perhaps a play by the hand of Fate, was that Dorothy, her dog, and the Scarecrow would be in that same forest that same late afternoon, curled up inside a rocky cave surrounded by harassing Fighting Trees. They sat back-to-back, both clearly tired and nervous, as the storm raged on.

"Gosh," uttered the poor young girl, "I didn't think the yellow brick road would lead us here."

"I know," frowned the Scarecrow. "It's so dark, and nasty. And this rainstorm's not helping either. Maybe we took the wrong turn after all."

"No, this has to be the right way to the Wizard. And even if it isn't, I can't stop until I get to him. I just have to…" Dorothy started to shiver as a cold breeze blew into the cave. Toto curled up beside her, and she in return picked him up and cradled him in her arms. "…Do you miss it?"

"Miss what?" asked her traveling companion.

"Home. Do you miss being in the field scaring crows?"

"…Nah. It was boring over there. And I wasn't very good at scaring crows anyway."

"I miss my home… I miss my Auntie Em and Uncle Henry, and the nice men that worked on the farm. You know, I tried to run away from there once- I thought this nasty old lady was after my dog, and I wanted to get him away from her. But now… Oh, gosh… I wish I never left." She sniffled.

Scarecrow turned around to face her, and noticed there were tears in Dorothy's eyes. "Aww, you got rain drops in your eyes," he cooed, and started to gently wipe them away with his tattered old glove. "There now, everything's gonna be fine. We'll get you home."

Dorothy sniffled again. "Thanks. You're the nicest talking scarecrow I've ever met… Well, you're the _only_ talking scarecrow I've ever met. But still the nicest."

"I dunno what 'nicest' is… but you're welcome."

They wouldn't have to wait out the storm for long; by sundown, it was over and they were off on the road again.

*

While on the edge of the forest, the trio of travelers stopped on the road to listen in on a strange sound… laughter. Lots of laughter, coming from the far left. Curious, Dorothy and company walked off-road to find the source of the commotion. As the sound grew nearer, it was soon accompanied by an eerie sound of clanging. Someone was having a good ol' time indeed, kicking a tin can around perhaps. When they arrived at the scene, Dorothy and Scarecrow were shocked to discover that the trees themselves- Fighting Trees as they were called-kicking around a helpless, rusted stiff pile of tin shaped like a man.

"Goal!" cheered one tree as it kicked the Tin Man's body under the root of another, as if it were a goal line in soccer. "Three-nothin'! Beat that, splinter box!"

Horrified, Dorothy shouted out, "Hey! What are you trees doing?"

The trees turned their trunks to face her, their fronts hollowed into eyes and mouths. "What's it look like, girly? We're playing Kick The Tin Man." "Yeah. Wanna play?"

Dorothy's blue eyes fell on the limp robot's body and instantly filled with pity. "Why're you being so mean? What did he ever do to you?"

"He's a woodsman," explained the tree closest to her, startling her when it spoke. "That means he cuts down trees. And we're givin' him a good ol' teachin', aren't we boys?" "Yeah," grinned the other trees slyly.

"That looks like fun. I can be the goalie," smiled the brainless Scarecrow. Dorothy elbowed him before turning her attention back to the Fighting Trees. "Well it isn't right, picking on someone who can't fight back."

"And jess whaddya gonna do about it, girly?" threatened the tree that currently had one of his roots planted on top of the Tin Man.

Dorothy stuttered, "I'm… w-well, I-I… I'll sic my dog on you!"

"Yeah," added Scarecrow; "her dog's gonna chew you all up an' spit you out!"

The closest tree to the trio looked down on the pint-sized Carin Terrier. "That little pipsqueak? HA! He couldn't chew up a cat."

_Grrr,_ went Toto, as if he felt their challenge.

"Go on Toto, teach _them_ a lesson," commanded Dorothy.

_Bark!_ Toto charged at the Fighting Tree that pinned down the Tin Man, as it laughed at his bravery. "Oh no, I'm so scared," it taunted. "Look, my branches are shaking! Hahahaha…" His friends laughed with him, until… "…Hey. …What's he doin'? …Hey… HeeeeeEEEEYYY!"

The tree roared with fury, seeing as how the dog did indeed attack him, by lifting his leg and marking him. "Why you little-" growled the tree, preparing to whack the dog with a branch. Toto was quick for his size and jumped out of the way of the swinging branch. While caught off guard, the tree carelessly loosened its grip on Tin Man, giving Scarecrow the chance to pull him away. Now was the time to run!

"Get them!!" shouted one of the trees; they all sounded so similar, it was hard for the travelers to tell which one shouted. It didn't matter, because all at once the furious trees launched a barrage of apples at them as they fled. Scarecrow, for once, did something clever by using Tin Man's body as a shield against the apples. The danger seemed to pass as soon as Dorothy and the gang found their way back to the yellow brick road, but they only had a moment to catch their breath when suddenly-

"Gotcha!!" shouted a Fighting Tree, who snatched up Tin Man's limp body again. This one was tightly rooted to the very edge of the road, but it seemed as though the other trees got the message to him that this robot was trouble. He acted so quickly that Dorothy and Scarecrow were too slow to snatch Tin Man back. "Oh no!" gasped Dorothy.

The Fighting Tree help Tin Man high in the air as it proclaimed, "I'm gonna tear this metal woodsman limb from limb!"

Dorothy then noticed that there were apples scattered on the ground, and so she quickly picked one up and tossed it at the tree like a baseball. She hit the tree right in the nose- if you can call a stump on the trunk a nose. Amazingly, it inflicted pain on the assailant; "Ow!" it hollered, and while reaching for its injury it dropped the Tin Man. An unfortunate thing to have happen, since the drop would have easily broken him.

Luckily, Scarecrow jumped into action. Literally. "I got 'im, I got 'im!" he shouted as he lunged himself under Tin Man's landing spot. Big mistake? Perhaps, if he weren't made of cloth and straw.

**FWOMP!**

"Oh! ….Dear," gasped a startled Dorothy, witnessing her friend's head get flattened like a pancake under Tin Man's weight. She ran to his side and leaned in carefully. "Scarecrow? Are you alright?"

"…Ahm fnnn," he mumbled while lying face down and giving a thumb's up. "Ah guttim." ("I'm fine. I got 'im.")

Dorothy couldn't help but crack a smile. "You got 'im, alright." Her smile was soon dropped when she heard the Fighting Tree start to growl. As quickly as she could, she peeled Scarecrow off the floor so that he could carry Tin Man out of harm's way. And not a moment too soon, as another set of apple missiles came flying at them. They took off as quickly as anyone carrying a two-hundred-pound robot could.

*

Getting out of that forest was no picnic, as one could imagine. But the travelers were lucky enough to find a small cottage by nightfall and settled in. There, they would find the oil and tools they would need to fix up the poor tin woodsman. They would also discover that he was in fact steam-powered with old fashioned gears and tubes on the inside working like a clock. Or, perhaps more suiting, like magic. But they had no idea what words would come out of his mouth the moment his jaw became loosened.

"WHERE IS SHE!? I'LL KILL HER, THAT SLIMY HORRIBALISTIC SNAKE! WHERE'S MY AXE? I'LL CHOP HER TO PIECES!"

"Woah, woah _woah_!" Scarecrow spoke up, as he and Dorothy jumped into a corner of the living room in terror. "Slow down, friend! Who's a snake?"

"The Witch," hissed the Tin Man. "That green scaly, no-good backstabbing heart-stealing Wicked Witch of the West!"

"Wait… Back up. She stole your heart?"

"Yes."

"…So you're in love with her."

"Yea-WHAT!? No! I hate her! I got a personal score to settle with Elphab—the Witch."

"…I'm confuzzled," frowned Scarecrow, scratching his potato sack for a head.

"It was a spell, you dimwit," said Tin Man harshly. "She and her sister both tried to kill me, and then I passed out and when I woke up I was this… this ugly hunk of junk."

Dorothy took a breath before approaching the steamed robot. "So… you were human once?"

"I'd still be human… if I only had a heart."

Scarecrow then jumped to his new friend's side with a big smile. "Hey, we got something in common! I'm almost whole too, and I only need a brain. Me n' Dorothy are going to see the Wizard, 'cause he's gonna help us."

"Pfft. The Wizard. He's too busy hunting down… you-know-who."

"How do you know?" Dorothy boldly spoke up. "Maybe he can hunt down the Witch and grant our wishes. He_ is_ all-powerful, isn't he?"

The robot formerly known as Boq looked down at her unsympathetically. "What do you know about the Wi-…. Wh-where did you get those shiny shoes?"

"Oh, these?" the little girl innocently glanced at her bejeweled slippers. "These were at the place where my house landed. Glinda the Good said I could have them."

"They… they look like…" Boq didn't want to think about his life as Nessarose's slave, but seeing her shoes again brought back those memories. His eyes lit up as if they had seen a ghost. "You know what? Nevermind. It doesn't matter…" Suddenly his tone changed from hostile to docile. "So. You're going to seek the Wizard's help, huh? Well, I guess it couldn't hurt if I came along. I just need to find a new axe, since the trees tore up my old one."

"Here," assisted Scarecrow, as he ran quickly into the tool shed nearby and tossed many a tool before realizing an axe was nailed to the wall. "I found one!" Carelessly he grabbed and yanked it off the wall, nearly toppling over from its weight, and carried it over to the Tin Man. "Here you go."

"Thanks," muttered the tin man. "I guess I'm ready when you two are."

"Three. Don't forget Toto," smiled Dorothy.

"Yeah, Toto too," shrugged Tin Man.

Dorothy and Scarecrow took a few minutes to gather up food into a basket while their new friend stood motionlessly nearby. He wasn't rusting again, he was just thinking very deeply. He couldn't help but stare at those shoes, how they sparkled in the firelight. A familiar, haunting voice crept into his head: _"Give me the shoes, and I'll make you human again…"_

One could only imagine life without a heart; there would be no care, no joy, no love… no remorse. Ah, one without a heart could easily chop off a girl's shoes by the ankles and carry them mercilessly back to a witch's domain. Then again, one could just as easily follow a pair of misfits down a winding road in search of a wizard who would grant them wishes with little effort at all. So the question now was this: which task would be easier, and faster to accomplish?

"Hmmmmm."

Boq, the tin woodsman, had a _lot_ of contemplating to do.


	3. Someone Less Fortunate Than I

3: Someone Less Fortunate Than I

"_Something bad is happening in Oz…"_

In a nearby countryside of the Forest of Fighting Trees lies The Great Gillikin Forest. It was home to many speaking Animals, all of whom kept a safe distance from any witch hunters. This was because the Animals were allies of the Witch Elphaba, despite her wicked reputation. Among these few and far between groups of sentient beasts were a pride of lions, who were preparing a counter-attack with the nearby human villagers.

"Something very bad," explained the pride leader as his followers looked on, "is happening in Oz, my friends. Our good friend Elphaba is in desperate need of our help. We must repay her for all the times she freed our caged brothers and returned our lost cubs. We must make sure these ignorant witch hunters never find her! Come, let's march to the Emerald City and demand pardon from the Wizard! And if that doesn't work, then let's fight!" His followers roared in agreement.

"…Fight? …Wh-who's fighting?" came a small, timid voice in the background.

The lions and lionesses looked around for the source of this voice, until the coward stepped out from his hiding place behind a tree. "_You_," growled the pride leader. "Who said you can come back here after I banished you from the pride?"

The Cowardly Lion gulped nervously, "Well, um… See I was with this group of tigers, and there was this one very pretty one-"

"Don't bore me with small details, just get to the point."

"I've heard rumors about all the Animals getting ready to fight for the wicked Witch of the West. Is it true?"

"She is not at all wicked," growled the pride leader. "And yes, we would be willing to die for her sake, if that's what it takes."

The cowardly one frowned in worry, "You should think this through before you go to war with the Wizard. You have no idea how powerful he is. Please, friends, don't throw your lives away!"

"And this is the difference between you and the rest of us; you wouldn't even think about fighting, even for a good cause."

"War is never an answer."

"You expect us to sit idly by like cowards? Like you!?"

The coward hung his head in shame as his fellow lions began to chuckle under their breaths. He was at a loss for words.

"If you're not with is, then you're against us. Leave now, before we chase you out. …Go!"

The odd lion out had no choice but to walk away from his former pride. And while he was clearly missing them as he left, none of them would miss him. After all, as asked by the pride leader, "Whoever heard of a cowardly lion?"

*

A day's walk across the country side brought Dorothy and company to the enchanted forest of Gillikin. With no proper housings there, they were left to camp out under the stars that night. Fortunately for them, it was a clear night, not a drop of rain. And yet, something was amiss…

_It would be so simple to just take them_, thought Boq as he stared eagerly at those sparkling shoes. He sat nearby the little girl as she and her dog curled up by the Scarecrow, who allowed Dorothy to use his chest as a pillow. He did seem rather soft, and he certainly wouldn't complain. But even he was unaware of the Tin Man's plot to steal the magical silver slippers.

_Just grab them. Grab them and run. They can't keep up with you; she's small and he's just a klutz. And you've got an axe. Who's gonna mess with a tin man when he's got an axe?? …Then again, Elphaba could be lying. She might never turn me back to a human. …Then again, she is desperate for those shoes. She may just consider it… Look at them. They're both sound asleep. I can lean in juuuuust like this… They're right at the tip of my fingers. Just oooone moooore reeeaach-_

Just then, Scarecrow's button eye flew open. "Hey."

"D'AH!" squealed the startled Tin Man.

"Sssh," hushed Scarecrow as he then pointed to Dorothy. "She's sleeping."

"Oh. Sorry," whispered Boq.

"What were you doing just now?"

"I was… Oh, I was just… thinking."

"Yeah. I do that a lot too."

"You do?"

"Oh, sure. I can think of things I never thunk before. And then I'd sit, and think some more. …Hee-hee, that rhymed."

"I thought you were brainless."

"Yeah, I am. It's just that I think with my heart and not my head."

"_You_ have a heart?" asked Boq disbelievingly.

"Sure. Don't we all? …..Oh. Sorry, I forgot."

"Nah, forget about it. It doesn't matter…. So, what do you think about?"

"Oh, I ask myself a lot of questions, like… 'How come the stars are so bright at night?' and, 'Why is the sky blue? And how does grass grow, and who taught the birds to sing?'"

"Why are you concerned about stupid stuff like that?"

"Well, I'm just curious… Hey, do you know why the Wicked Witch is green?"

Boq shrugged, "Because she's evil, I guess."

"…Nah, that can't be it," Scarecrow disagreed.

"What makes you think that?"

"Well, a lot of things are green. Trees are green, snakes are green."

"Maybe she's part snake."

"Oh, now that's just silly. And besides, not all snakes are bad."

"They're not?"

"No. I've seen some pretty decent ones in a zoo once. They were very pretty and they just sat there on those rocks without a care in the world."

"Hold on. Since when do scarecrows visit the zoo?"

Scarecrow paused to recapture a moment from his human past, which like a dream was just there and then gone in a flash. "….I….. I don't know, I just remember being there."

"You're a weird guy."

"Yeah, well… you're tin. Say, do you have a real name besides Tin Man?"

"They used to call me Boq."

"Bock? Pff, that's a funny name. How about Nick Chopper?"

"No, don't like it. Tin Man's fine by me. …And what about you? Do you have a real name?"

"Scarecrow."

"But what's your first name?"

"…….Scare?"

Dorothy cooed as she nearly awoke from her sleep, but then yawned herself back to dreamland. Scarecrow fluffed up his chest just before his little friend could rest her head back on top of it.

"…Hey," whispered the tin man. "Why do you suppose she doesn't just take those shoes off?"

"I don't think it matters," Scarecrow whispered back to him.

"You care about her, don't you?"

"About Dorothy? Of course I do, she's my best friend."

"So… so, if anything were to happen to her or her shoes?"

"I would never let anything bad happen to her." Scarecrow whispered this firmly, almost threateningly.

"That's all I needed to know," replied Boq, as he turned away. He now realized that taking the silver slippers would be slightly harder than first assumed. If he was to get them, he'd have to go through the Scarecrow first. He'd have to rethink his strategy.

The night went on uninterrupted from that point on.

*

By morning, the travelers had resumed their march down the yellow brick road. Most of their journey had been peaceful and quiet that morn, but soon enough that quiet would be disturbed. The culprit: distant voices chanting and singing something most unpleasant:

"_Go, and hunt her,_

_And find her, and kill her!_

_Go, and hunt her,_

_And find her and kill her!"_

Dorothy felt a chill down her spine when she heard the animosity in those nearby voices. "Did you hear that? What's going on?"

"_Kill the witch!"_ shouted a man's voice in the distance.

"_Good fortune, witch hunters!"_ echoed a mad woman's.

"Witch hunters," muttered the Tin Man in realization. "Quick, we need to catch up to them. Maybe we should help them."

"But what about our quest?" asked the Scarecrow. "Shouldn't we be more worried about getting to the Emerald City?"

"What's more important to you: meeting the wizard, or stopping evil once and for all?"

"Tin Man," Dorothy replied, "if it means that much to you… then you can go."

"Let me at least talk to them," he nodded. "You two stay here, I won't be long." The silvery steam-powered robot took off after the distant witch hunters, leaving his friends to wonder if he would return.

*

"_Wickedness must be punished!_

_Evil effectively eliminated!_

_Wickedness must be punished!_

_Kill the witch!"_

Just as he had predicted, Tin Man found a marching band of enraged Ozians traveling with torches, pitchforks and other weapons on a mad search for their green-skinned prey. They had come from all over- Munchkinland, Winkie Territory, even the Emerald City. They were marching westbound, directly toward the Forest of Fighting Trees.

Tin Man rushed up to them and skid to a halt in front of them. As he stopped, steam erupted from his would-be hat in exhaust. "Fellow Ozians!" In an instant they were taken aback by his appearance, and holding an axe as well. "It's alright, I'm on your side…

"_It's due to her I'm made of tin,_

_Her spell made this occur._

_So for once I'm glad I'm heartless;_

_I'll be heartless killing her!"_

"Yeah! Let's kill her!" cheered the humans.

"Wait!" came a low but soft voice behind a tree. "Wait, everyone. Killing the witch would only make matters worse."

Tin Man's eyes narrowed. "Who said that?" His eyes scanned the area for anything unusual in the scenery, until they landed on a long tan tail curled behind a tree. Tin Man approached the tail and asked, "Well, what have we here?"

"D-don't axe me," shivered the cowardly lion as he crouched behind the tree. "I mean you no harm."

"Do you have something to share with these witch hunters?"

As Tin Man and the Lion talked, the witch hunters nearby waited anxiously. Tin Man then turned back to them and smiled, "It seems the Lion has his grievances to pay. If the witch had let him fight his own battles, he wouldn't be a coward today!"

"Aaah," replied the awed Ozians.

Tin Man then turned back to the hiding lion. "That is why you're here, right? To help us kill the witch?"

"I don't really want to kill anyone," gulped the shy lion. "I just wish we could all reason with each other, that's all."

"Heh. Then you really are a coward."

"Are the two of you coming with us?" asked a witch hunter to the odd fellows.

Tin Man replied to them, "Go on without us, we'll catch up later."

"Right then. Let's go, witch hunters!" shouted their ring leader. As they marched, they sang: _"Wickedness must be punished!"_

"_Brave witch hunters, I'd join you if I could_," added Tin Man softly.

"_Because wickedness must be punished,_

_Punished, punished…_

_But good!"_

Reluctantly, Boq watched his fellow witch-haters march away, but now he was alone with the still hiding lion. "There now, they're gone."

"Whew," sighed the great beast as he at last crawled out into the open. "I thought for sure they'd shoot me for being an Animal."

"So it's true then, the Animals are on her side?" questioned Tin Man.

The lion shamefully nodded, "They are, I'm afraid. I tried to reason with my old pride, but they're hell-bent on warring with the Wizard and other Ozians. But oh, how I wish things were different. I wish things were easier… Say, why did you stay with me?"

"Because I have my own agendas," confess the tin man. "Now then, answer me this: if you're not with the witch or the witch hunters, then who are you with?"

"N-nobody… I'm a lone lion."

"Lion, I think you belong with us."

"Wh-who's 'us?'"

*

"AAAHHH!" was the natural reaction anyone would have to an approaching lion, and that's the very reaction he got from Dorothy and Scarecrow.

"It's alright, you two," smiled Tin Man as he returned to his awaiting friends. "This lion is in desperate need of courage, and since the rest of us need something that the Wizard can give us…"

"Oh, I see!" smiled Dorothy. "So you want to join us in meeting the wizard, Mister Lion?"

The lion blushed bashfully, "Ah, y-you don't have to call me that."

Scarecrow jumped in front of him enthusiastically. "What do we call you then?"

Stunned by the presence of a large talking rag doll, the lion shivered, _"Brrr!"_

"Brrr, huh? Pleasure to meet you, Brrr! I'm Scarecrow." He then shook the still nervous lion's paw.

"And I'm Dorothy," curtsied the little girl. "Oh, and this is Toto. He usually hates cats, but I think he'll make an exception for you."

Brrr leaned down to pet the dog, but it snapped in self defense. The lion make a small _"Eek!"_ and coiled back in self defense. For a moment, he looked like an oversized house cat with its fur poofed up.

Tin Man eyed Scarecrow in reaction; "This will be interesting." Scarecrow smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Whenever you're all ready now, let's go," smiled the excited Dorothy. She then led the newly added band of misfits out of the forest and into an open plain, blindly following the tallow brick road.

Tin Man followed behind, clutching his axe protectively. _This will be interesting indeed_, he thought to himself. _Now that we have a lion on our side, maybe we can all make the trip to the Wizard after all. And once Brrr gets his courage back, he'll be a force to be reckoned with. Elphaba's the one who's going to need courage once Brrr gets a hold of her… heh-heh-heh…_

But while he seemed content with this new strategy, part of him was still holding on to the second option: abandoning the gang and stealing the slippers for the witch. Scarecrow will be easily taken down with the axe, and Brrr would be too frightened to challenge him. But if he were to pull this off, he would have to do it before they reached the Emerald City.

Time was running out. He had to choose….


	4. Sudden Heat

4: Sudden Heat

Sleep rarely came to Elphaba since her tragic departure from Fiyero. Most nights, she cried herself to sleep, only to wake up a few hours later and endure the rest of the evening with a restless heart. But there was one night where she managed to catch a few extra winks, thought there were still a few tears left. As she lay curled up in her bed in the highest tower of her lair, she was graced with a most soothing dream. Well, it was more like a memory, a memory of she and Fiyero together, while a familiar tune played in the back of her mind. And for once, she was smiling in her sleep.

"_Every moment,_

_As long as your mine,_

_I'll wake up my body_

_And make up for lost time_

_Say there's no future for us as a pair,_

_And though I may know, I don't care…"_

*

"_Just for this moment,_

_As long as your mine,_

_Come be how you want to_

_And see how bright we shine_

_Borrow the moonlight_

_Until it is through,_

_And know I'll be here holding you,_

_As long as your mine…"_

Scarecrow never slept; it could be that he didn't even know what sleeping meant. But while his friends were settled in a cottage on their journey's third night, he and Brrr nestled out on the front porch. And while the lion was definitely sleeping, Scarecrow was more or less meditating. Suddenly this strange song buzzed in his hay-filled head and he became entranced by it. His brown button eyes were "shut," but he could clearly see the figure of a young woman pulling closer and closer to him. Her face was hard to see, for she was shrouded in darkness, but there was a loving glow in her eyes that was more than enough for Scarecrow to want to reach out to her.

As the two of them embraced, her raven-black hair fell all around him, and the two of them slumped into a field of tall grass and flowers, which oddly enough felt as soft as fur. Actually, they even smelled like fur. Lion fur.

"Hmmm… Hmm??" With a crooked smile, Scarecrow nuzzled himself awake before realizing that he was snuggling up to the cowardly lion's mane all along. At the same time, Brrr was opening his eyes, and he too was wearing a crooked, lovesick grin.

Then their eyes met. "….AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

Scarecorw jumped two feet back as Brrr jumped up on his paws in shock and disgust. They both dusted off each others' scents before looking back and shuddering, "Brrrr!"

The lion started to lick his front left paw before boldly asking, "Don't tell me you had the same dream I just had."

"Did you see a beautiful woman jumping into your arms too?" asked Scarecrow.

"Not a woman, but a tigress… So yeah…"

"I don't even remember what she looked like, but I was so… happy!"

"Yeah, dreams'll do that to you."

"Do what?"

"Mess you up."

"Oh." This comment made the Scarecrow frown; perhaps the woman of his dreams was an illusion and nothing more. But that couldn't stop him from softly humming that familiar tune. _"Hmm-mm-mm-mmm-mmm… Hmm-mm-mm-mmm-mmm…"_

*

He kept humming song all morning, even as Dorothy and the others gathered up food and an oil can courtesy of their Ozian host and hostess before making their exit.

"Will you cut that out?" asked a ticked off Boq nearby. "It's putting a strain on my head gears."

"Oh, sorry," blushed the scarecrow as he started to skip in his stride.

"What is wrong with you? You're even chippier today than you were when we met."

"I just can't get over this dream I had. There was this woman, and she was all in black and her hair was like… long, and we were, like, singing to each other and-"

"Okay, okay! I get it; you don't have to paint a picture!"

"Sorry."

Brrr the lion couldn't help but chuckle as he groomed himself nearby. "Sounds like somebody's in love."

"Don't be ridiculous," replied a disbelieving Tin Man. "What do scarecrows know about love?"

"Well what does a heartless Tin Man know?" responded the brainless one.

"I _had_ a heart. Just because it's gone doesn't mean I don't remember what it felt like."

"Oh! …..So, what did it feel like?" asked the Scarecrow with a silly grin.

Boq turned his head. "No, I don't want to talk about it."

"Oh, come on. Please?"

"No."

"Please?" asked Dorothy who had overheard the conversation and just _had_ to jump into it.

"No!"

"Please?" grinned the lion slyly.

"NO!" Tin Man halted and faced his companions with a threatening stance. "I don't have to pour my soul out to a bunch of weirdoes like you! If I want to keep my feelings for Glinda the Good all to myself, then I will!"

"You did it! You just said Glinda! Aaa-hahahahahaha!" laughed Scarecrow victoriously.

"Oooh," cooed Dorothy, "I was wondering if a pretty lady like her had her admirers."

"She must be very pretty if she's got a tin man's gears spinning," joked Scarecrow. "…Look, look! He's blushing!"

Brrr noticed the red complexion in Boq's face too, but replied nervously, "Uh, he's definitely seeing red, but I don't think it's blush."

Steam was erupting from the Tin Man's top as if it were a mini-volcano. His grip on the axe tightened, just before Dorothy said, "Alright, Scarecrow, quit teasing him."

"Fine, fine. I'm sorry Nick, I meant nothing by it."

"Apology accepted. And stop calling me Nick!"

Scarecrow then tiptoed over to the unnaturally friendly lion. "…So, love. What _does_ it feel like exactly?"

Brrr whispered so as not to stir the tin man's anger again, "It feels warm, like your whole body's on fire, only it doesn't hurt and you like it."

"Oh… I don't know what fire feels like," shrugged Scarecrow. "Do I want to know?"

"Only if you're not afraid of getting hurt."

The scarecrow smiled ignorantly; if there was one thing he was more a stranger to than love, it was pain.

When the sun peaked into the noon hour, Dorothy and friends said their goodbyes to the Ozian couple who were all too gracious to let them spend the night. It seemed as though news of Dorothy's journey to the Emerald City was now spreading from one farmland to the next. So it was only a matter of time before the news fell onto the ears of a crow who, like most Animals, was a friend to Elphaba…

*

They were now a day and a half away from the Emerald City's disctict, and each of them was glowing with excitement. Dorothy was skipping instead of walking, unaware that Scarecrow was jokingly mimicking her skips right behind her. Brrr and the Tin Man were more confined in their steps, as though they hadn't a care of where they were headed.

"Isn't it wonderful?" smiled Dorothy. "Soon we'll be at the Emerald City, and we'll all get our wishes granted."

"I'm still not sure if he can give me back my humanity," frowned the tin man. "But I guess it's worth a try."

"I wish I could be looked at by my fellow lions with respect," confessed Brrr; "But I know I can't do it without having true courage in my heart… What about you, Scarecrow? What is it you want from the wizard?"

The scarecrow stopped his skipping and lined up between the lion and the tin man. "Well gee, I was gonna ask for a brain, but I think I'm happy with what I've got. I've got feet to walk on, a mouth to talk with, and hands to… well... do hand things with."

"You know," replied Boq suddenly, "I've been doing a lot of thinking, and I'm thinking you might have been human once, Scarecrow."

"How do you figure that?"

"Well, most scarecrows don't talk, for one. And they don't walk or skip either."

"Can they dance?" smiled Scarecrow curiously.

"Can _you _dance?" asked Dorothy to her raggedy friend.

"I can sure try," he smiled back.

The gang paused from their walking to form a semi-circle, with Scarecrow in the middle of what he envisioned as a stage. He took a few breaths while plotting out his moves, then he softly tapped his shoes, one by one, to a melody that seemed to come to him out of the blue.

"_Da-da-da-da,_

_Da-da-da-dadum,_

_Da-da-da-da-da-daah-ah-ah..."_

He nearly lost his balance when he tried to sweep his right foot. "Wait, wait. Lemmie try that again…" He cleared his throat before resuming his fancy footwork.

"_Da-da-da-dum,_

_Dee-dee-dah-duh-dum,_

_Da-da-da-da-da…_ I think I know this song.

_Dancing through life,_

_Skimming the surface,_

_Gliding where turf is smoo-ooth._

_Life's more painless_

_For the brainless- _Ha!

_Why think too hard_

_When it's so soothing."_

He then picked up a giggling Dorothy and spun her around as his dance partner. Meanwhile, Boq was scratching his chin, realizing that this melody was familiar to him somehow.

"_Dancing through life,_

_No need to tough it,_

_Not when you sluff it off as I do._

_Nothing matters,_

_But knowing nothing matters…"_

He stopped unexpectedly, as his smile dropped. "What's wrong?" asked a concern Dorothy. "I… I don't remember the rest," he frowned.

"I do," replied the Tin Man nearby. He then took Scarecrow by the hand and led him in the dance, perhaps to be kind or at least silly. The two of them made a farce-like ballet as the girl and lion giggled in enjoyment.

"So, what kind of man do you think I am?" asked Scarecrow to Tin Man.

"Not a very good one, so far," the Tin Man sang back.

"_To be a man, you need an education_

_So you can do work in a field."_

"_I already work in a field."_

"_Yeah, but not as a stiff. Get my drift?"_

"_Oh."_

"_To be a man, you need some ambition,_

_Like marriage or leading the pack._

_You want any of that?"_

"_No, I'm just fine with_

_Dancing through life!"_

"_But think of the paychecks._

_Think of the ways you can better the world."_

"_But life is frought-less_

_When you're thoughtless."_

"_Trust me, the thoughtless_

_Never get girlfriends."_

"_Dancing through life_

_Sounds more exciting!"_

"_Not when you're laughed at_

_And ridiculed too."_

"_Nothing matters-"_

"_But being human matters!"_

"_Not when you're dancing…"_

"_Can't you think this through?"_

"I would_… if I only had a brain."_

"Oh, don't get me started with **that** melody." With that, Tin Man dipped Scarecrow as their final dance move.

"Hahahahahaha!" laughed the group, except for Boq and Toto. Although if one were to look closely, one would see that Boq managed to smile, if only a small one. But the laughing went on, even after Dorothy, Scarecrow and Brrr stopped. In fact, it was now louder, higher-pitched, and coming from above.

"_**AAA-hahahahahahahahahaaa!"**_

They all looked up, and lo and behold, there was the Wicked Witch of the West herself, hovering above them on her broom. And she wasn't alone, two crows fluttered around her like an entourage.

"Heh-heh… Sorry for interrupting your mood," chuckled Elphaba, "but I just had to see this for myself: a lost little barn girl, a dimwitted scarecrow, a rusty ol' tin man and a cowardly lion! Hahahahahaha!"

A steamed (literally) Tin Man raised his axe high in defiance. "You wouldn't be laughing so hard if I chopped you and your broom up in pieces!"

"Oh, don't embarrass yourself Boq," replied the witch; "you couldn't harm me if you tried."

"Oh no??" He then attempted to throw the axe at her, but she was already prepared with a force field around herself and her feathered friends. The axe bounced off and ricocheted back to Boq's head. With a loud "**Clang**," he was knocked out cold. And the witch laughed maniacally again.

"Woah," uttered a nervous Scarecrow, "you really are wicked."

"Say what you want, I have no quarrels with you. Now _you_, on the other hand, Miss Twister-rider…" Elphaba descended her broom to the ground right in front of Dorothy. "I'll make you a quick offer: you hand over those silver slippers and I promise to leave you and your friends alone, for good."

Brrr shivered as he used Scarecrow's body as a shield. "D-d-don't listen to her, Dorothy! Sh-she'll use them for more black magic."

Elphaba jerked her head to the shivering lion with a sneer. "Don't tempt me, you big pussy… All joking aside, girl, those shoes rightfully belong to me. They were my sister's- you remember her, right? The lady whom you and your house landed on?"

Dorothy stepped back and shuddered. "I'm… I'm so sorry, I never meant to-"

"What's done is done, and all I want from you are those shoes. It's really not that hard a bargain, wouldn't you agree?"

Confused and terrified, Dorothy turned her attention to the one person who had yet to say anything, the Scarecrow.

He looked back at her with a sincere glow in his button eyes. "It's okay, Dorothy. Whatever you choose, I'll back you up."

"Aw, how touching," replied Elphaba sarcastically. "Are you the knight in shining armor come to rescue the damsel in distress? Oh wait, that's right; I knocked him out with his axe." Then the witch paused as she stared more intently at the raggedy scarecrow. Suddenly, her tone turned from vicious to curious. "…Who _are_ you, really?"

"I'm… just a scarecrow I guess," he shrugged.

"Then… I suppose you wouldn't mind a little fire, would you?"

"Oh no!" gasped Dorothy in horror. "Don't hurt him, please! I'll give you the shoes!"

As Elphaba turned back to Dorothy with a twisted smile, Scarecrow and Brrr shook their heads in disagreement. "No, don't!" they both shouted.

But Dorothy had already knelt to the ground and began tugging at her shoes. Elphaba leaned back, rubbing her slimy green hands anxiously, and waited… and waited… and waited some more. "…Come on, hurry up. We don't have all day!"

"I'm trying," gritted Dorothy, as she struggled to get a firm grip on the heels of her bewitched shoes. But no matter how hard she pulled… "They… they won't come off. I'm sorry. They're not budging."

Not understanding the situation, the Wicked Witch balled her fists with fury. "Why you sneaky little farm rat! I'LL get them off!" She then reached out to Dorothy with fingers and nails as long and thin as talons.

Defensively, Scarecrow came up from behind and grabbed Elphaba's hat, tearing it off her head. "Don't you TOUCH her!" he growled.

In shock of her had flying off, Elphaba gave out a loud yipe, and whipped around to face the Scarecrow head on. As she did, her long, wild hair tossed as softly and slowly as though weightless. Their eyes met intensely. But while she was obviously enraged, he was suddenly overcome with… dare I say it… admiration.

"…wow…"

"What!?"

"Nothing…….. You're…. you're beautiful."

"…_What_?" Elphaba's dark eyes blinked, and her voice cracked. Her jaw may as well have dropped to the floor at that point.

Suddenly Brrr jumped in front of Dorothy. "Here Dorothy, climb on my back. We're getting out of here!" Without hesitation, the little girl did as she was told. Toto jumped onto the lion's back as well, before the three of them took off in a flash.

The witch, realizing her prized shoes were leaving, roared like a true lion: "YAAAAH!" Then she turned back to the bewildered scarecrow and hissed, "You tricked me! For that, you're gonna get burned!!" Then with a wave of her broomstick, a ball of fire shot out like a missile and pounded the scarecrow's chest.

**FWOOM!**

"Scarecrow!!" gasped Boq as he was now just coming out of his daze. He pushed Elphaba aside to help his friend. "Stop, drop and roll! Stop, drop and roll!" he frantically chanted as he pushed Scarecrow to the ground and smothered him into the dirt, thus putting out the small fire.

Elphaba felt an uneasy chill up and down her spine; it was time for her to go before things became even stranger. She mounted her broom and began to levitate once again. "If that little girl wishes to keep you three chumps alive, then she'd better surrender my shoes!" Before the tin man could reply, the witch flew off like a comet, followed by her crows.

The tin man then sat the scarecrow up on his knees and tried to dust off the ashes left on his now charred chest. "There now… Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," smiled the rag doll. "In fact, that was kind of fun! I'd do it again."

Boq shook his head and sighed, "Tch. You really are brainless."

The two of them were reunited with the others shortly afterwards.

*

Another one of Madame Morrible's thunderstorms had swept into the countryside within the hour. Dorothy and the others ran for shelter, and found yet another hospitable farmhouse. While his friends took time to rest and feed themselves with the small rations they had, Scarecrow decided to meditate on the porch. As he did so, his crooked smile returned to his burlap face. He saw his dream girl once more.

And this time, her flesh was bright green.


End file.
